Although Grim and Ursa were audibly gulping down their salivas, Tala, with hesitation and a disgusted expression etched across her face, slowly brought the Vylkr vine closer to her lips before taking a cautious bite. In a snap, she tore it in half and began to chew. The sour and bitter taste of the vine contorted her face into a grimace, and she felt like vomiting it out of her mouth. However, Warrior Jean quickly interjected, urging her to continue. He then shifted his gaze to the rest of the group with a look that plainly said, “What are you all waiting for?”.
Orion joined in, sinking his teeth into the vine and gritting his teeth against the bitter taste. He watched as Ursa, Grim, and Gorg followed suit, each struggling to chew and swallow the vine due to its repulsive flavour. Despite the unpleasantness, they managed to finish the entire thing.
Just as Orion was about to inquire about the purpose of eating such a foul thing, Tala fell to the ground, clutching her throat with great force as if struggling to breathe. The group looked on in bewilderment until Orion felt a sudden wave of tiny, painful needles spreading throughout his body, with the worst pain located at his throat. The discomfort was too much for him to bear, and he too collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony just like Tala. ｎｏｖ𝚕．𝚌ｏｍ
Ursa was the next one to give in, and Grim and Gorg followed suit shortly after. Within minutes, all of them were writhing on the ground, convulsing and clutching their throats as if their very lives depended on it.
The scariest thing was that it felt like their lives truly were in danger.
……..
Three hours later
Despite the lingering burning and itching sensations throughout my throat and body, I summoned enough strength to pry open my eyes and sit up. I couldn’t tell how long I had been out, but the sight of the rest of the group still soundly sleeping nearby indicated that it had been quite some time.
“Seems like you’re the first one to wake up,” I jerked my head towards the source of the voice to see Warrior Jean munching on the Vylkr vine that had knocked us all out with ease. Suddenly, he posed a question to me, “So, who among the three of you possesses a six-star potential?”.
Knowing that the results of the evaluation were no secret, considering everyone present must have told at least a couple of people, I calmly cleared my throat and responded, “That would be me.”
Warrior Jean’s expression shifted from surprise to understanding as he nodded and said, “No wonder you woke up first.” But before I could even ask the question I had been dying to know, he cut me off and added, “However, we’ll have to wait until the others wake up so that I can explain everything to the group at once.”
I let out a sigh of understanding and nodded my head in agreement.
Suddenly, he added, “In the meantime, try to sense the strange energy in your body.” Without a word, I nodded and focused on activating my gift. As the strange energy coursed through me, I also sensed a denser, more violent energy, which made me frown in frustration. It was hindering my efforts to activate my gift. I realized that this energy wasn’t present before I lost consciousness, and I quickly surmised its source.
As if he could read my thoughts, Warrior Jean immediately explained, “The violent energy that’s impeding you from using your gift is what we call the Vylkr energy, which you acquired by consuming the Vylkr vines. The higher the star rating of the Vylkr vine, the more violent the energy, making it difficult for warriors with lower star ratings to consume it. Only those with equal or higher star ratings can easily handle it.” He paused, then turned his attention to the village chief’s messenger daughter, who was starting to stir awake, and added, “For now, while we wait for the rest of the group to wake up, try activating your gift using both the Vylkr energy and the strange energy in your body, instead of fighting against it.”
Although feeling increasingly intrigued and apprehensive at Warrior Jean’s explanation, I decided to give it a try. Disregarding those conflicting emotions, I allowed a wave of curiosity to wash over me, spurring me on to see what would happen if I attempted to merge the two energies – the Vylkr energy and the strange energy coursing through my body – while activating my gift.
“Crackle!” A surge of intense pleasure swept through my body, from my spine to my head and down to my toes, as my gift suddenly activated. Lightning – brighter and more violent than ever before – burst forth from my arm, surrounding it with arcs of brilliant light that reached all the way to the tips of my fingers. With my eyes wide with astonishment, I stood up and watched as the lightning expanded beyond my arm, shooting towards the ground in a mesmerizing display. The bolts of lightning stretched out in all directions, bouncing off the ground and then surging back towards my arm, creating a breathtaking spectacle.
In less than a minute of being entranced by the mesmerizing view of my gift that seemed to have gone through drastic changes, I was abruptly pulled back to reality by the booming voice of Warrior Jean. “Congratulations!” he declared, “You are now officially a warrior!” He flashed me a broad smile before he went back to snacking on some of the Vylkr vines beside him.
‘So this is what it means to be a warrior,’ I mused, my mind racing with newfound insight. I further understood why some of their works were kept hidden in secrecy – the power they wielded was not to be taken lightly. As for the Vylkr vine, who in their right mind would dare to consume such a thing? But my thoughts were interrupted as Thak’s daughter stirred, her eyes flickering open. Undeterred, I continued to test the intensity of my lightning, stopping only several minutes later because there were some things that I wanted to test in private.